Lullaby
by Ben is Glory
Summary: A singer comes to town, but turns out to have special demon-fighting skills
1. Joyceless

"Lullaby" by Ben is Glory

Pairings: S/B(sort of), W/T, and X/A

Summary: A singer comes to town, but turns out to have special demon fighting skills  
  
Timeline: Season 5, after Forever  
  
Thanks to: yordan for all the help  
  
Dedicated to: Yordan  
  
Disclaimer: 20th Century Fox and Mutant Enemy own all the characters, settings, blah blah blah.  
************************************************************************

  
Chap 1

Joyce-less

"Buffy, you need some sleep. Go home to bed."

"Shut up Giles. I want to train."

"You've been training non-stop, except for patrols. If you don't need sleep, the rest of us do. OOF!"

"Sorry about that one, I didn't mean to hurt you. Maybe I could use a break." Buffy didn't really want one, she wanted to keep focused on kick, block, punch, but she could see Giles was truly worn out.

"Right then, help me out of these pads, I can't very well sell magic trinkets in layers of styrofoam."

Buffy did as she was asked and the two ventured back out into the magic shop. 

"Good you're back. I really really need a potty break." Anya looked as though she might pop right there behind the cash register.

"Sorry, An. I kept Giles from duty too long.", Buffy apologized

"Yes you did.I will never get used to this bladder thing." With that Anya was gone.

Giles took his place behind the register and looked at Buffy. "I really think you need to go take a rest. You've got a while before sundown."

Buffy didn't want to go home. Home was where her mother wasn't. Home was where the house was empty and screamed silent accusations at her. Sleeping was also out of the question. Even if she could have slept, she didn't want to. Whenever the slayer closed her eyes, she saw Joyce. Joyce standing over her, asking Buffy why she hadn't come home in time, asking why Buffy hadn't loved her. No sleeping at home was not on Buffy's list of most fun things to do at the moment.

"Giles I-"

"Will go get some rest before you collapse."

"Right."

The sunshine outside the Magic Box was very bright. As Buffy walked toward Sunnydale University, she saw couples picnicking in the park. Children chasing each other in the School playground. A blonde middle aged woman going into a salon. The woman looked curiously like Joyce. Buffy couldn't stop herself from craning her neck to get a closer look. Of course it wasn't Joyce. Joyce was buried 6 feet below and not coming up. Never. She was Joyce-less. God, Buffy needed some company.

"No wonder people take up smoking." Buffy mumbled under her breath. "Tar is better company than no one."

Willow was in her dorm room, thank God. Buffy couldn't stand the thought of being alone a moment longer.

"Oh hi Buffy. Come in." The dorm room was full of harsh, glaring sunlight. Well, no vampires here, at least.

"Where's Dawn?"

"At school. Or maybe Xander's"

"That's good. Xander's is fun."

"Yeah. Fun."

"Buffy, are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be ok? I'm fine. I'm FINE."

"Alright. You're fine. Its just that you're kind of...fidgety."

"Fidgety?"

"Like the wiggle wiggle can't sit still thing."

It was true. Buffy had wandered from bed to window to desk to bed since she had entered the room. Of course, that wasn't far to wander under the circumstances.

"Oh. Sorry. Just a little restless."

"Maybe you should go exercise. You know, punch some stuffed dummies or something."

"I just trained with Giles. He kicked me out. Said I needed sleep."

"Oh. He has a point. You haven't slept in a week The circles under your eyes are threatening to take over."

"I just can't. Icky nightmares."

"Ah. I see. Well, maybe you need a break. Some happy-let's-forget-about-life-time."

"Like what?"

"Don't look so wary. I'm not going to bite you. I'm not a vampire. I just thought some fun might help."

"Maybe. What kind of fun?"

"One of Tara's favorite singers is coming to town. Carmen Candide. I said we'd go. We could make it a group thing."

"Tara wouldn't mind? I don't want to sit in on a date or something."

"No. We'll bring Xander and Anya, too."

"Okay. Group party for Buffy. What about Dawn?"

"I'll talk Giles into Dawn watching. Don't worry. In the mean time, you can hang out here."

"Thanks, Wil. Thanks a lot."

"Anytime. I have some reading to do, but make yourself at home." Then, looking at Buffy, "I'm right here. Super Willow on call to wake up from nightmares, make soup, or hold crying slayers."

"Thanks again."


	2. Singer

"Lullaby" by Ben is Glory

Pairings: S/B(sort of), W/T, and X/A

Summary: A singer comes to town, but turns out to have special demon fighting skills  
  
Timeline: Season 5, after Forever  
  
Thanks to: yordan for all the help and Anna P. for letting me use our song.  
  
Dedicated to: Yordan  
  
Disclaimer: 20th Century Fox and Mutant Enemy own all the characters, settings, blah blah blah.  
************************************************************************

Chap 2

Singer

The Bronze, dimly lit and hazy as always, was surprisingly less than crowded.

"She isn't very well known," offered Tara.

"That's okay, more room for us," responded Willow, spreading her arms luxuriously.

"I could really use a drink," Xander interjected. "Alcoholic, that is. Anyone want to join me?"

"Oooh, ME!" Anya hastily replied.

"Count me in.." Willow added.

"I guess I will too," Tara supplied.

"Buffy?" Xander questioned.

"None for me, thanks." Buffy wasn't sure why she had turned it down. It would have been nice to drown sorrows in foamy intoxication. Maybe it was the thought of Dawn sitting with Giles. Or maybe it was that she didn't want a hangover on top of everything else. Oh well, she could always get some later if she changed her mind.

"Right then," Xander headed off toward the bar.

The rest of the Scoobies took a seat around one of the tables near the stage.

"Wow. A good table without murdering to get it. Amazing," Willow had said what the rest were thinking.

Tara smiled. "Lucky us. Or lucky me. Carmen Candide is one of my favorite singers ever. She is not really the run of the mill; there is something enchanting about her. Her voice is really pure and-"

"Coming through!" Xander interrupted. "Oh look, the roadies are done setting up. It's show time."

Sure enough, the band walked on stage and settled in. Then came Carmen. She looked unbelievably ordinary. Her hair was long, straight, and mouse brown. She was a little on the short side, but not remarkably so. Her body was fairly average, no supermodel, but not by any means ugly. The clothes she was wearing did nothing to disabuse the effect. Her jeans were baggy, but not huge. More along the lines of carpenter pants. The T-shirt was tight enough for fashion, but still comfortable. It was pale yellow with a bright red oriental dragon on it, wings spread. The air she held about her was passive, not weak, but the kind of person that would give in without too much argument on almost all matters. The word that came to mind when people saw her was "plain" or maybe "unmemorable."

"That's her symbol. The dragon, that is," informed Tara.

"Really? Awful snakey," remarked Anya.

Then, the singer approached the microphone. As the band started up, Carmen's back straightened. The tension drained from her, and at the same time she seemed to gain all the confidence in the world. The expression she wore was no where near defiant, but all meekness had vanished from her face. But that was nothing.

This confident person opened her mouth, and all that remained of ordinary was gone. A light came into her eyes, a glow that shown and sparkled. It seemed like the sun itself had graced the dingy club through this girl's eyes. The dull brown hair was no longer brown. It was auburn, it was bronze, it was chocolate, it was mahogany, it was a waterfall of beauty cascading down Carmen's back. The girl that stood on stage was no longer a girl, she was an angel who had broken through her disguise. But that was nothing.

Her voice was far more than angelic. The notes rang out like bells across water. Like light across the sand. The sound that poured out of the performer seemed to come not from her, but from somewhere unimaginable (heaven maybe?) _through_ her. 

__

There were golden flowers growing

there were waterfalls of lace

and the moon was out in daytime

when I first saw your face.

"Damn!" breathed Willow, Tara, Xander, and Anya all at once. Buffy certainly agreed with the sentiment.

"I knew she was good, but I've never seen her live before," Tara explained.

"Must be one of those need-people-watching singers," answered Willow.

"Oh My GOD! I know what she must be!" Anya exclaimed. "Oh she's a...oh what are they called? There's a word for it."

"Singers?" Willow suggested.

"Well, of course. She's one of those women that when they open their mouths, this unbelievable sound comes out. Like la-la-la."

"Singer," Willow tried again.

"No, when the singing happens, other stuff is supposed to happen too. Like massive sleeping or sudden urges for playing leap frog. Only they're not supposed to be around anymore, and the old ones were all Latin or something."

"Well, Anya maybe that's true," Xander said. "However, it's far more likely that you have had a little too much foamy goodness a little too fast." He held up Anya's glass, now empty. "Enough for you, sunshine."

"Well, she might have a point," Buffy interjected. "She might be some kind of weird singing demon."

"What? Like a siren? Those singers that lured men to their deaths?" Willow questioned.

"No she's not a siren!" Anya protested "And I am not drunk. I know what she is I just can't think of the word for it."

"Well, if she was a siren," Willow informed "the men in the room would be flocking to her. That is obviously not the case. And besides, if she was some kind of demon, there would be some kind of mass chaos going on. AND," Willow said before Buffy could say anything "it is our night off. She's not doing any apparent harm, so lets just enjoy it."

So the Scoobies sat back and watched Carmen Candide sing her soul out to the half-empty Bronze.


End file.
